


5 things

by Heza



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Accidentally kinky Torture, Blood, M/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-18 17:45:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11295603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heza/pseuds/Heza
Summary: There's things Wash would never do for his team, but one thing he'd always do.There's so many things the Blues would do for Wash, but one thing they'd never do.





	1. Five things Wash wouldn't do for his team and one thing he would

**Author's Note:**

> So Illumynare for Angst War on tumblr prompted me with "Five things Wash wouldn't do for his team and one thing he would". Unfortunately I made this fic Tuckington, and Lumi's not a fan of Tuckington. XD Thank you for the inspiration my friend!! <3

_One_

Caboose was a large man. Just a little shorter or maybe even as large as Maine ~~it pained Wash that he couldn’t quite remember~~ , Caboose was the strongest soldier in the Feds and News forces. Which meant when Wash needed to be firm with him, there was always the thought in the back of his mind _dear god this man could break me if he had any sort of aggression issue._ Wash had been assured, when he first joined Blue Team, that Caboose only killed teammates when attempting to help them.

Problem was, that was exactly what Caboose was attempting to do.

“Aw, but, come on Washington,” Caboose boomed, holding out Freckles towards him. “I promise he won’t cause any trouble! And he’d be so helpful in all of our fights if he was back in his bigger body instead.”

They had decided to house the AI inside Caboose’s gun, for two reasons. One, it was capable of sensing when Caboose accidentally pulled the trigger, firing confetti instead. Two, it stopped Caboose from playing fetch with a _very dangerous machine_. Wash thought Caboose had understood the reasoning for putting Freckles in charge of his gun, but maybe Wash had mistranslated Caboose’s rapid nods. “Caboose, I know you think that this will be helpful-“

“I KNOW it will be helping Washington!” Caboose shook Freckles a little. “See, Freckles had TWO big guns on his last body, which means he could shoot at least two more people than he can like this,” he reasoned, pouting. “Oh please Washington, I promise, I will take care of him. I will take him for walks and give him baths and remember to oil him-“

“Caboose,” Wash repeated, gently pushing back Freckles into Caboose’s arms, “you need to understand. When Freckles is that big, he could accidentally hurt someone. Like… Like you with the tank.” Caboose felt silent, his arms dropping though he still held Freckles carefully. Wash didn’t like bringing up that incident from Blood Gulch for exactly this reason. Caboose had the galaxy’s best impression of a kicked dog down to a T. “Accidents don’t make you, or him, a bad person. And, like this, Freckles can make sure that, ah, other accidents don’t happen.”

“Oh. Like when he spits out all the colourful pieces of paper?” Caboose tilted his head, blinking. “I like it when it does that. It’s like we’re having a party ALL THE TIME!”

Wash took a breath and nodded. “Exactly that. Think of it this way, okay? When Freckles is small like this, he can keep you from hurt- making mistakes. And you can keep him from making mistakes too. You’re partners.”

“Oh! Like Carolina and Church!” Caboose gasped. “ _Oh my god Agent Washington am I like a Freelancer?_ ”

“Err-“ Wash hesitated, trying to think of how to explain that, no, not quite, but Caboose was already turning around to take off down the hall.

“OH MY GOD I CAN’T WAIT TO TELL CHURCH AND CAROLINA! I’m just like they are!” he shouted as he turned the corner and disappeared from site.

Wash heaved a sigh. Caboose was always coming to him to ask permission or one thing or another, and it made Wash feel more like a parent than Caboose’s C.O. But he was very aware of the fact Caboose was an adult with agency, even if things were difficult for him sometimes, so Wash made sure to treat Caboose like the adult he was, just with different words.

… Wash did wish he could say yes more often however. Caboose’s face light up with a smile brighter than any he’d seen before. Once this war was over, Wash was looking forward to seeing Caboose out of fighting and somewhere safer. Somewhere happier.

His helmet HUD indicated a message from Carolina.

**“What the hell did you tell him?”**

**

_Two_

“Sister…”

“Come oooon Wash please…?”

“Kaikaina, _no_.”

“You’ll barely have to do anything-“

“Kaikaina, I’m trying to work right now.

“I’m going to be the one on top doing all the real work. You’ll just have to sit there.”

“Kaikaina-“

“Tucker and Caboose have already said yes! Even that grumpy glowing guy said he’d watch, and he doesn’t even have a body!”

Wash looked up from his datapad, glaring at Kai through his helmet. She was seated on the edge of his desk, helmet off, giving him the most pouty, sultry look she could managed. Wash would not be moved. “Kai, I’m not going to help you convince the others to build a human pyramid in order to raise the moral of the troops. And I’m not going to participate in that either, no matter what you offer.” He looked back down, trying to read the latest report form the advanced troops. “So could you please get off my desk?”

Kaikaina Grif did not get off his desk. Instead, she scooted closer, pulling down his data pad with a finger. Her fingernail was painted yellow. Where she got yellow nail polish in a war zone, Wash wasn’t sure, but it was perfectly done, not a single visible chip. Wash looked up to see her grinning. “Oh, I think I know how I can convince you,” she leeeaaaned in, causing Wash to leeeeean back. “I know your weakness. No cop is incorruptible.”

Wash felt his brow twitch, mostly from irritation. He was _fairly_ sure Kai knew he wasn’t a cop, but sometimes he wondered. Which he suspected was exactly how she wanted it. “Kai, I’m not going to-“

Kaikaina shushed him, finger going from his datapad to his helmet where is mouth would be. Despite the fact she wasn’t actually touching his face, Wash fell silent. Kaikaina Grif was a very beautiful woman and she was currently giving Wash eyes and _dammit_ he did not have time for this.

“I could do you a faaavour~” she sang, leaning closer. Wash leaned back further, causing his chair to creak. “A _personal_ favour…”

_This was not appropriate._

“Kaikaina-“ Wash began, voice stuttering, but Kaikaina shushed him again and leaned right in close-

“I could set up a date for you and Tucker~”

Wash yanked himself away from Kaikaina. But now he was leaning too far back and his chair tipped. Wash yelped, arms flailing, as he toppled to the ground, holding the datapad up high to prevent it from getting damaged. Kaikaina pulled back in surprise with a shriek of laughter, her eyes shining brightly as Wash sputtered from the ground.

“Excuse me- why do you think- Private Grif, that isn’t-“

Kaikaina snorted, folding her arms over her chest. “Urg, stop getting all formal on me Wash. _Private Grif_ come oooooon. There’s no part of this Grif that’s private!” And she winked.

Wash groaned and shook his head. What did he do to attract the attention of Kaikaina today?

He struggled to his feet, placing the datapad on the desk. “Kai… I’m trying to do work. Really important work. For the good of the people on Chorus. I can’t have distractions right now. And, NO, offering a-a-a date with Tucker, is not going to make me waste time with silly games, in an attempt to raise troop moral!”

A hurt look crossed Kaikaina’s face and Wash immediately regretted his word choice. He put a hand to his visor, counted his breaths, and spoke again. “I’m sorry. You’ve caught me at a bad time Kai. Since the two armies have joined, you’ve done a great job in helping them cooperate better. I just don’t have the time to help to help out.” He explained, slowly lowering his hand and looking back at her.

The look on Kai’s face was thoughtful. Wash knew from experience Kai was a lot more intelligent than people gave her credit for. She was… Unorthodox, true, but she was an invaluable asset to the war effort-

“What if I arranged a threesome between you, me, and Tucker? Help you deal with all that stress?”

“OUT!”

**

_Three_

Epsilon was bright and blue, hovering in front of Wash’s face. Despite the fact he was holo-projecting himself in power armour, everything about Epsilon’s body posture made it clear that he did not want to be here. Wash also very much didn’t want him to be here. Every time he looked at Epsilon, every time he heard him and Carolina speaking, Wash was pulled back to that day. The day that Wash went in for surgery. The day where memories that weren’t his tangled up in his brain, sometimes pushing out important memories of his own. The day Epsilon unraveled in his head, screaming and screaming.

Wash could never name the exact emotion he felt around Epsilon. There were at least ten all balled up together impossible to tell where one began and the other ended. There was anger, jealousy, worry with his relationship with Carolina. There was regret, frustration, hurt over how they had torn each other to pieces. There was hatred that he was treated like he had never done anything wrong. There was relief that, after everything that had happened, that the two of them had been able to survive.

But not move on. For an AI program Wash had a relatively easy time reading him, perhaps from the time they’re minds fell to ruin together, and knew that everything he felt Epsilon also felt. The jealousy about his relationship with Carolina. The regret for his actions in Wash’s mind. The hatred that he was still around. The relief that he’d survived too.

Wash regard Epsilon carefully. If the two of them had not spoken to each other in a long time. For the most part, Wash would talk to Carolina, Epsilon would talk to Tucker, and that’s just how it went. But maybe, just maybe, if the two of them sat down and spoke, not just about plans, or the space pirates, or the Reds and Blues, but about the Project, about the day of the surgery, about Epsilon destroying himself inside Wash’s mind, about Wash leading the Meta to Tex and thus leading her to her fate.

Maybe letting Epsilon back into his implants, using their thoughts and minds to sort out all the knots and broken pieces, would fix things between them. Make things easier for the rest of the team, make things easier for _them_. Make it so Wash didn’t remember that awful day. Make it so he wasn’t constantly scared of Epsilon doing the same to Carolina. Make those big, gaping wounds in his head a little smaller.

They never did. Wash had never been able to bring up the subject, no matter what angled he tried to approach it from. Even framing it in the “it would benefit his team” didn’t make Wash do it. In the end, he wasn’t sure anything could.

The moment had passed. Epsilon kicked his foot and muttered before vanishing, “yeah, so, they want you in the war-room. Hurry up.”

**

_Four_

Wash stared down Tucker from across the kitchen. Tucker stared back, knees bent, ready to run, his narrowed eyes flickering between Wash and the almost empty coffee pot. Someone walking in on the scene would have been able to swear they saw a tumble weed blow by.

Wash was closer to the coffee pot, but he wasn’t going to let his guard down. He knew from experience how fast Tucker could move, especially when he wanted something.

Especially when he wanted something that _wasn’t his_.

“Tucker,” Wash warned, voice low, “I’m only going to say this once, as both your friend and as your superior officer. That is my cup of coffee. If you come near it, I will make your life a living hell. That’s a promise.”

Tucker, cocky son of a bastard that he was, snorted. “Please, I’ve already gone through the “Wash living hell” experience when you insisted on running drills daily at the crash site and I got through just fine. I think I can handle it for the last bit of caffeine.” He edged towards the coffee pot but stopped when Wash let out a growl.

“Oh trust me, Lavernius, you’ve not experienced hell,” he said as he raised his “best dad” mug he had gotten as a prank gift from the Blues last year threateningly in Tucker’s direction. “You think _me_ running drills is bad? Just wait until I put Carolina in charge of your training.”

Tucker visibly blanched. “You wouldn’t. Just for a cup of coffee, you’d make me go through that?”

“You’re underestimating what I’d do for a cup of coffee, Tucker.”

For a moment, Tucker looked like he was going to back down. Then he tightened his hair tie, pulling his dreads further back out of his face, and straightened his back. “Naw man, I’ve got a meeting with Kimball and Doyle in ten minutes. I need that coffee.” And he bolted.

Wash lunged at the same moment. He and Tucker met at the coffee pot, Wash with his hand on the handle, Tucker with his hands on the machine. They stared each other down, and Wash _head butted_ Tucker, causing him to reel back in back, clutching his nose. Wash grinned and poured the remaining coffee into his mug.

“OW Wash, what the fuck?!” Tucker grumbled, sounding nasally as he held his nose. “You could have broken my nose!”

Wash triumphantly held his mug up in a mock salute and took a big swig of it. The war meant he couldn’t dump half a sugar bowl in his cup, but right now Wash needed the caffeine and it’s ability to let him fake eight hours of sleep more. “You better be ready to see Carolina bright and early tomorrow, Captain Tucker,” he said cheerily as he lowered his mug. “From what I hear, she’s extremely hard on Caboose when he’s late.”

“You’re making me train with _CABOOSE?!_ ”

**

_Five_

“Keep running! I expect another five laps at a good pace. No dragging your feet!” Wash yelled behind him, watching Tucker groan and pick up his speed. Caboose was doing a good job of keeping pace today, he normally would try to run ahead of Wash, and had a large smile on his face. Wash gave a brief smile of his own. Always nice to see Caboose doing well. Tucker on the other hand….

“Waaaash come the fuck on,” Tucker whined, wiping sweat from his brow, “we’ve been running forever now, can we take a break already?”

“Can’t take a break on a battle field Tucker! So keep! Running!” Wash called back. He knew Tucker could handle this. He had run further in his armour than what they were currently doing right now, out of armour. Tucker just liked to complain. Not as much as Grif did, and not quite in the same way, but Wash _knew_ Tucker got a kick out of making things difficult for him. When he told them they were jogging without armour today, for example, Tucker had made such a lewd gesture and Wash had blushed all the way up to his ears. He hadn’t even been wearing a helmet to hide it!

That was why they were currently on their tenth lap.

He only got another loud groan from Tucker… Except this one was a lot closer to his ear oh god dammit Tucker was behind him now wasn’t he?

Wash looked over his shoulder again and sure enough, Tucker was right behind him.  Wash tried his best to ignore the playful glare Tucker was giving him as he said, “there we go, good pace Tucker.”

“Oh-ho you think I set a good pace now, wait until I’ve got you under me~” The fact Tucker was panting heavily was not at all helping Wash keep a dignified look on his face.

“Captain Tucker, you’ll be running an extra five laps,” Wash said through gritted teeth, angry he could feel his ears heating up. He was tempted to run faster to put space between him and Tucker, but he was _trying_ to instil the importance regular training, and not overworking yourself while training.

… Besides, if he pulled ahead, that meant Tucker was won. And Wash couldn’t have that. Wash would not allow Tucker to use dirty talk to chase him away OR make him want to drag Tucker off to the nearest closet.

“Come on, Wash,” Tucker’s voice was a lot less whiney than before and still dangerously close, “my way still teaches endurance and pacing and all that crap. It’s a way more fun way to keep fit.”

“Tucker, I am not sleeping with you. I’m your commanding officer it wouldn’t be appropriate.” Wash grunted, keeps his eyes straight ahead, not wanting to even think about the looks Tucker must be giving him right now.

“But Wash, baby, come on, that just makes it hotter…”

“Tucker…” Wash growled warningly. His patients was slowly starting to thin… and his arousal at Tucker’s stupid voice, was slowly starting to grow.

Yup Tucker made another obscene sound behind him, the heavy breathing apparently not just from running to keep up with Wash. “Ooh, I love hearing you say my name like that,” Wash could practically hear his grin, “why don’t you and I take off and leave Caboose running? I promise by the end I’ll have you panting harder than him-“

Wash stopped, causing Tucker to skid to a stop behind him, which caused Caboose to come CRASHING into Tucker, sending the both of them to the ground. Wash turned on his heel, glaring down at the pile of cursing and squirming blues.

“Ow what the fuck Wash?!” Tucker yelped, shoving Caboose off him.

Wash ignored him, instead helping Caboose up. “Caboose,” he said cheerfully “lets go sit and have some water while Captain Tucker here runs another _ten_ laps!”

Caboose, thankfully using much of his own power to do so rather than tugging down on Wash’s arm, popped up with a bounce, that wide smile on his face. “Okay! I was getting a little tired anyway.”

Tucker groaned and let his head fall back on the track. “Aww come on…”

“Come on Tucker, ten laps now. You wanted to be panting hard, didn’t you?”

**

The knife slid down his chest, cutting a thin red line between his pecs. Wash hissed slightly at the pain, squeezing his eyes shut. Then the knife was pulled back and a savage kicked to his knees sent Wash flying to the ground. With his hands tied behind his back and his legs kept apart with a stiff metal rod, Wash was unable to catch himself as he fell, his head bouncing off the metal floor. His world spun, spots flashing in front of his eyes. He didn’t have any time to get his bearings as a hand snatched his hair, yanking his head up from the ground.

“Aww, come _on_ Washy,” Felix’s breathy chuckle came by his ear as he gave Wash’s head a little shake. “I thought you’d be more fun! You went through so much trouble just to keep those _morons_ out of my hands I thought you had something planned for me!” He smashed Wash’s face into the ground, and Wash felt his nose cack and blood gush down his face.

Wash already knew this wasn’t for information. You don’t torture someone for information by kicking them around, laughing manically. If they had wanted information, Locus would have been in here, not Felix. Which meant Felix was just using him, just getting his sick pleasure from watching Wash squirm and struggle, until he got bored and killed him.

Wash had accepted the possibility of his death from the moment he’d held back to keep Locus and Felix and a half dozen space pirates busy in order to give Tucker, Caboose, Sister, and the others time to escape on the pelican. He’d been running on borrowed time since Sidewinder anyway.

Felix rolled him over and straddled him, running the flat of his knife along Wash’s jugular. It was warm and slick with blood, his own blood. “I wonder how long you’ll last,” he mused, moving the blade up further, before turning the point so that he could slice along Wash’s cheek. Wash fought to keep his head still, least he jump and push the knife further into his skin. “If I gave you a thousand little cuts, how long until you start to beg? Saying you’d do anything to make the pain stop.” He lifted the knife and began to make an identical cut on the other cheek. “Until you’ve gone mad from the pain?” His eyes met Wash’s and he grinned.

So Wash spat in his face.

Felix recoiled as a mix of saliva and blood spattered across cheek and nose, his amused look shattered. “Fucker…” he growled as he wiped the blood off with the back of hand, then backhanded Wash hard. Wash’s head snapped to the side, then Felix was gripping him by the jaw and squeezing, forcing him to look back at him. “I should cut out your tongue for that. Maybe send it to Tucker as a present. Think he’d like that?” He taunted, before taking his knife and dragging it slowly down Wash’s side. Wash kept himself from crying out, he would not give Felix the satisfaction, but he couldn’t help but squirm by the end from how slowly Felix was dragging that knife.

“I am going to make this _slow,_ Agent Washington,” Felix sneered, setting the knife down in favour of digging his fingers around in the wound. Wash squirmed again, hissing through his teeth. “I’m going to drag each second of this out, letting you heal just enough so I can do it all over again. And, when you die? I’m going to make them watch. I’m going to make Tucker _watch_. He is going to watch the lights fade from your eyes, as your unable to to even fucking whisper his name.” The knife was back in his hands, dangerously close to Wash’s mouth. “And then? I’m going to kill _them_. You might have saved them this time, _Washy_ , but I promise you, I am going to kill them along with the rest of this miserable plant and oh, I am going to _savour_ it.” He was hissing by Wash’s ear again, his hand on Wash’s jaw squeezing so hard Wash for a moment wondered if it would break.

Wash had to believe in the others. Had to believe they would survive. Had to believe they’d save Chorus.

Wash believed, and Wash knew, that if he died his death wasn’t going to be in vain.

Besides, the Reds and Blues seemed fond of being big damn heroes when the moment called for it.

So Wash, even as Felix pride his mouth open and stuck his knife inside, had hope.


	2. 5 things Blue Team would do for Wash and one thing they'd never do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for fluff week I got this ask from Salt:
> 
> "UMMMMMMMMMMM YES HI HELLO YOU KNOW WHY I'M HERE HEZA SO GET THAT INNOCENT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE. I AM HERE TO ASK PRETTY PLEASE WITH THE FRUIT OF YOUR CHOICE ON TOP FOR A RESCUE FIC FOLLOW-UP FOR FLUFF WEEK TO THE INCREDIBLE 5/1 PIECE ABOUT WHAT WASH WOULD AND WOULDN'T DO FOR HIS TEAM, YES THANK YOU AND GOOD DAY ILY"
> 
> And next thing I knew it was 6 and a half thousand words. |D Hope you all enjoy!

Felix’s knife tasted of metal, both from the blood that coated it and from the blade itself. Wash tried to pull his tongue away but there wasn’t anywhere for it to go as Felix pressed the edge of the knife against it. He wondered if Felix was going to cut swiftly or hack his tongue of slowly. He had a feeling, as the blade began to bite, Felix wasn’t going to make any of this swift.

The door to his cell opened with a slam accompanied with a loud “Felix!”. Felix whipped around, though he was still straddling Wash, pulling his knife out of Wash’s mouth. The blade didn’t cut through but it did cut down the side and a bit of his cheek and lip, surprising Wash into letting out a soft cry of pain and sputter blood down his chin. He opened his eyes to see Locus standing in the doorway. Despite being in full armour, it was clear that Locus was not pleased in the slightest.

“ _WHAT?!_ ” Felix snarled, glaring harshly at Locus. His chest was rising and falling heavily, as if he had just ran a great distance.

“Get off him and get out here.” Locus’s words were curt, and he sounded a little disgusted with Felix. Wash recalled what he had said before, about not drawing out someone’s death, but it was hard to focus between the pain and ringing in his ears from when Felix kicked him to the floor.

Felix took a heavy breath and looked back down at Wash. His eyes glinted at the sight of Wash’s face covered in blood and he gripped Wash’s jaw again. “I’ll finish this later, _Washy._ You rest up now.” Despite his now calm tone, the grip on his jaw was nearly cracking and, as he leaned away, the pat he gave Wash’s cheek was closer to a slap.

Wash grunted as Felix roughly got off him, staying on the ground until he heard the cell door close and for a few moments after that, before finally managing to roll over onto his side to spit out a mouthful of blood. His stomach felt nauseous from pain and the amount of blood he had swallowed, but at least the blood was from cuts and a broken nose rather than internal bleeding.

It took him several minutes and twice as many attempts to get up into a sitting position, legs out in front of him, and he scooted back to get his back against the wall. It was cold, given his being shirtless, and Wash shivered. His blood, some of it still wet, was staining the ground in front of him, and he had created a trail to where he had dragged himself. Wash swallowed, unfortunately swallowing a little more blood, trying to keep himself calm. The wound on his side and the line down his chest hurt, especially when he expanded his chest to breathe.

Wash rested his head gingerly against the wall, wincing slightly as he put pressure on where he hit his head on the floor. He had to stay calm and in control. Couldn’t let Felix get any sort of pleasure out of seeing him panicked and scared. And even if Felix was only doing this for himself, there was nothing to say he wouldn’t start prodding for information, however inaccurate a panicked Wash might be. And if Wash kept his head, then there was no way he’d risk the Armies, Carolina, or the Reds and Blues. It was bad enough hearing his team scream at him over the radio before Locus had pried it off, let alone having to live with the knowledge that something he said caused them direct harm.

Wash closed his eyes and tried to ignore the throbbing of his wounds and head.

The next time his cell door opened, it was a medic and an armed guard. The medic roughly patched him up, dressing the wounds and making sure they were clean. The cuts inside his mouth had already scabbed up, but the medic did make a note of “no solids”, under his breath. Wash stayed still and silent the entire time, not wanting to agitate guard nor medic.  

It seemed Felix was serious about letting Wash heal, at least once, because the next few times his cell opened it was either to bring him some slop of food and water which had to be fed to him due to his hands being tied, or the medic changing his wounds. Several meals went by, though Wash highly doubted he was being fed three times a day, before Felix and Locus returned.

“Heeeeeey there Washy~” Felix nearly cooed as he stepped into the cell. Like before, he was helmet-less though still in his power armour. He sauntered up to where Wash was currently backed against the wall and grinned down at him. “How you feeling? Got some pep back in you?”

Wash kept his head down, avoiding giving Felix any sort of attention. Felix _wanted_ a reaction, wanted Wash to fight and curse and scream. He knew Felix would hurt him, whatever he did, but it was satisfying watching Felix’s grin strain at the lack of acknowledgement. He did, however, take note of Locus leaning against the, now closed cell, door. Perhaps he was there to make sure Felix didn’t go too far, cut too deep.

Wash _hoped_ that’s why he was there.

A pair of hands roughly grabbed him, one by his upper arm, the other clenching his hair by the roots, and Wash was hauled to his feet, pulled forward and slammed back against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. “I’d pay attention to me when I’m talking to you, _Washy_.” Felix hissed, hand going from Wash’s arm to squeeze down on Wash’s neck. Not hard enough to choke him, but enough that it was making it difficult for Wash to catch his breath properly. “It’s only going to be _so much worse_ for you if you don’t.”

Wash met Felix’s eyes. They were icy blue, opened wide and manic, and not for the first time Wash found himself wondering just how much of a grip Felix had on his sanity. During his time working with the Feds, he had been warned about Locus’s mental state, his cruel if efficient nature, how he saw himself as a soldier, a weapon, first and a person second. That was only reinforced by the stories from the News, once the two armies were joined together.

As he stared into Felix’s eyes Wash was fairly sure that, of the two, Locus was far the more human.

When Wash still didn’t speak, Felix squeezed down harder, causing Wash to cough. The strain on his mouth caused the wound in his cheek split a little, and he tasted blood.

“Felix…” came Locus’s warning growl. Felix made a show of rolling his eyes in response, glancing back towards Locus briefly, before his grip on Wash’s neck loosened. Wash quickly sucked in a breath as Felix grumbled, “yeah yeah,” before stepping back and throwing Wash back to the floor.

Once again Wash was unable to catch himself, hitting the ground hard. He groaned as his head rattled and the world spun, quickly shutting his eyes to stave off the dizziness and nausea, pushing his head against the cool metal floor. He felt the now familiar weight of Felix settle onto his back, a gauntlet wearing hand pressing down between his shoulder blades. “It’s a good thing Locus is here to keep you safe, isn’t it?” Felix hissed by his ear, almost masking the sound of a knife scraping against its sheath. He grabbed a fist of hair again, pinning Wash’s right side of his head to the ground. “Me, I’d rather leave you in blood heap, barely able to think, but _Control_ wants you mostly coherent and able to speak. _Lucky you_.”

Something sharp pricked above Wash’s left shoulder blade and dig down, causing Wash to let out a muffled groan against the pain, gritting his teeth hard. “But,” Felix continued, dragging his knife down in a slow line before lifting it and starting again elsewhere on his back, “I think I _deserve_ a little bit of fun don’t you? It’s been all work work work with these guys, and let me tell you, it’s just _so good_ to let loose and enjoy myself. Keeps the mind fresh, as they say.”

He continued to cut into Wash’s back, his hand and weight keeping Wash steady, even as Wash’s instincts told him to _squirm, run!_ The cuts he was making went from the left of Wash’s upper back to the right, Felix falling uncharacteristically silent as he worked. Wash kept his groans of pain muffled, though it was beginning to overwhelm him a little.

“There, perfect.” Felix’s grin was evident in his voice as he he lifted his weight just enough to roll Wash onto his back. “I’ll have to get you a mirror later. Wouldn’t want my handy work to go unappreciated.” He chuckled, sounding surprisingly good natured about it.

Wash found that to be very worrisome.

Felix’s eyes searched Wash’s face, that manic look still there, and he must have found something he was looking for because his grin grew wide as his eyes darkened. “You know, you look really good like this Washy~” he leaned down, bringing his knife up to press the flat side against Wash’s throat. “All bloody and flush under me. Shame about those freckles though.”

Wash did his best not to roll his eyes at the pointless comment. He had long since been insecure about his looks, and if Felix thought _that_ was going to get under his skin-

“I wonder what _Tucker_ would look like if I had him like this?”

Wash went stiff underneath Felix, only for a moment, but Felix definitely noticed as he threw his head back and laughed.

“What did I tell ya Locs’?” He turned to look over his shoulder. “Knew that get a raise out of him.” In a blink, Felix was bearing back down on him, face less than an inch away from his own. “You know, Washington, originally I was thinking of killing you first while I made Tucker watch, before starting on him. But I think it’d be _so much better_ if I had you both strapped down in here, taking turns on each of you, forcing you to hear each other scream. What do you think? Think Tucker will break first or you?” The point of Felix’s knife was digging into his chest again, creating a new line of red pain. “Oh, I bet I could get Tucker to agree to _anything_ if I promised to stop hurting you…”

Wash snapped his eyes to Felix’s again, gritting out a single “fuck you,” his body beginning to shake both from pain and nerves.

“Oh Washy,” Felix’s other hand cupped his face for a moment, “breaking you is almost enough of a reward on it’s own. I wonder if Control will let me have you when they’re done…”

The knife cut a thin line across Wash’s other cheek.

When Locus and Felix finally left, Wash did not move for a long time, other than quivering and sucking in breath after breath.

_They don’t have him_ , he told himself, _they don’t have Tucker. If they did, they wouldn’t just taunt you with him, he’d be in here._ He clung to those thoughts, mindlessly repeating _they don’t have him they don’t have your team you kept them safe_ until Wash slipped into unconsciousness.

**

The hands that Wash woke up to were gentle, not rough like the medics or bruising like Felix’s. His eyes cracked open, staring at the colourful blur in front of him. “Who-“ he choked before shutting his mouth out of instinct.

As his senses came to him slowly, Wash became aware of several coloured blurs. Teal, Blue, and Yellow. Sounds were reaching his ears now, and they sounded an awful like-

“Uh, Tucker, Carolina’s saying we like, gotta go. She doesn’t think the Reds can hold out much longer.”

The muffled, clearly indigent voice of Sarge came over someone’s radio, which was cut off with, “yeah yeah okay old man, Tucker come on!”

“Just give me a sec Kai! Wash, Wash are you with me?” Tucker’s voice was coming through clean, rather than filtered through a radio helmet. That would be because, Wash realized, that Tucker was not wearing his helmet.

“Tucker… Why the fuck aren’t you wearing your helmet…?” Wash tried to sound like a good, disciplined CO would, but his voice cracked too much for that. It had been a while since he used it and…

And they had come for him.

Tucker’s face split into a wide grin, though Wash noticed there was distinct fear in his eyes. “Yup, he’s good! Okay Wash, hold still…” The room was basked in a light blue glow as Tucker’s sword buzzed to life and brought down quickly between Wash’s ankles in quick succession. The metal rod keeping his legs apart was in several pieces on the floor, giving Wash mobility he hadn’t had in… Weeks? A month?

Tucker jammed his helmet back on and ducked behind Wash, undoing his hands. The ropes burned his wrists as they slid off, but the feeling of air touching them was grand enough Wash could forgive the sting. “Alright man,” Tucker helped him to his feet, “think you can run with us?”

“I-“ Wash began, uncertain as he stood on shaky legs, before he was cut off by the robotic voice of Freckles saying “TARGET ELIMINATED” three times in a row.

“Uh, Tucker,” Caboose held Freckles up higher, “I think we should be making with the running now? Like… Right now.” Freckles fired again, stating another two targets dead.

“Alright scratch that, looks like we’re carrying you. Caboose, hand Freckles to Sister and pick Wash up.”

“Okay! Freckles, you be good to Sister now okay?” Caboose quickly handed Freckles over to Kaikaina, who took Caboose’s place in the doorway of the cell.

“Alright you little BBgun, let’s do this!” She squared off.

“AFIRMATIVE.”

Wash, who was having a hard time registering the chaos around him, grunted as Caboose picked him up bridal style. “Agent Washington! It’s so good to see you again!” He was clearly beaming at Wash through his helmet, adjusting his grip on Wash so it wasn’t _too_ tight.

“G-good to see you too Buddy…” Wash gritted teeth against pain, not wanting to scare Caboose.

Tucker’s sword was ignited again. “Carolina, we’re making our way back! We’ve got him. Let’s go people!”

His team took off running, with Kaikaina taking point, Caboose and Wash in the middle, and Tucker holding up the rear. As he bounced in Caboose’s arms, slowly starting to zone out from pain, Wash was aware of all the place he sore. His head was sore. His chest was sore. His back was sore. His wrists and ankles were sore.

But, as Caboose carried him to safety, as Kaikaina whooped for every enemy she and Freckles shot down, as Tucker shouted commands and took enemies down with his sword, Wash felt his heart soar.

**

_One_

Wash was placed immediately into emergency care once they reached Armonia, and nearly half the army wanted to see him. Dr. Grey was fighting to keep visitors out, though she allowed the Reds and Blues to visit during specified hours only. It meant Wash could recover in peace, without someone fussing over him or ranting about how they were going to rip Felix and Locus a new one or asking if he’d like them to sneak him a chocolate bar.

It meant that Wash was very lonely. No matter what he asked, Dr.Grey wouldn’t allow someone to stay with him after the first couple days. Tucker had protested that loudly, but in the end even he couldn’t force Dr. Grey to do anything she didn’t want to do.

“Dr. Grey, I’m doing fine…” Wash had argued after a few days of this, “they won’t be disturbing me- hell, I think I’d be doing better with some company.” Something to keep his mind off the events that happened, to make the time until he was released go faster.

Dr. Grey had only smiled gently at him as she looked up from her datapad. “It’s not just about _you_ silly! I have many patients in my care, a lot of them dealing with very serious wounds or trauma like yourself. I understand that you would like to see them more often, but I have to think of the needs of everyone. Some people in here would _not_ do well with all the extra noise!”

Wash had stopped arguing after that. She was right, of course, there were others in here, who all had people visiting them during visiting hours. As much as he loved his team… well he knew first hand how chaotic and loud they could be, especially when they got each other going.

Though he understood it, Wash had complained about it once to Tucker, while Carolina was within earshot. He suspected that was why he woke up not only to the soft beeps and lights of medical equipment but to the soft glow of Epsilon “sitting” on the edge of his bed, kicking his little legs back and forth.

“Wha- Epsilon?” Wash startled awake, a hand immediately flying to his implants when he didn’t see Carolina anywhere.

Epsilon was sitting one moment the next he was standing in the air above Wash’s chest, arms folded over each other. “Would you calm down? You’re going to wake someone up, Jesus. I’m not in your fucking implants, I’m going through the electrical equipment alright?”

Wash slowly lowered his hand from his neck, though he was still on edge. “Then- what the hell are you doing here?” He hissed, leaning in close while being careful about his wounds. “Is everything okay, does Carolina need something?” For a moment, Wash feared something was wrong. The only times Carolina sent Epsilon to Wash was when she needed his attention immediately-

Except Epsilon was looking sheepish, arms going from being folded over his chest to awkwardly hugging his shoulders before dropping limply at his side. “Uh, no, Carolina didn’t send me. Not… exactly per say.”

Wash blinked. In all his time engaging with Epsilon, _shy_ was never an emotion he had seen from him. Certainly not around Wash. “Then why exactly?” he asked, almost tempted to give Epsilon a hand to walk onto, as he had seen Carolina do so many times before.

When Epsilon didn’t answer him immediately, instead awkwardly gesturing with his hands and head, it dawned on Wash that it wasn’t just shyness Epsilon was feeling.

It was _worry_.

“Were you… Were you _worried_ about me?” His jaw fell open, eyes widening slightly.

Wash could have sworn for a moment Epsilon’s avatar flashed _pink_ as he sputtered indignantly, “what- no I wasn’t- no I’m not- _Carolina_ was worried, okay?!” He turned sharply from Wash, shoulders hiked up to his ears. “I’m just keeping an eye on you for her.” He paused for a moment before looking over his shoulder. “And… For like Caboose and Tucker and Sister. They’re pretty worried too. So, Carolina and I figured, if we can’t get anyone with a physical body to keep you comp- to keep an on you, why not send the vastly superior, intelligent, and handsome AI unit instead?” Church looked away again, head tilted up slightly.

Wash stared at his tiny, glowing form for a moment, the corner of his lips twitching into a smile. “Thanks Church,” he said softly, holding back a chuckle as Church became indignant again.

“Oh shut up asshole.”

Things were quiet for a time, and Wash was finally beginning to feel sleep drag him down once more, before Church softly said, “Hey, just so you know- I’d never jump in your implants, okay? Not without permission or something.”

Wash isn’t sure if they’d ever get there, but he felt warm as he fell asleep.

**

_Two_

Wash was having nightmares again. They hadn’t been so bad in the infirmary, where the artificial sleep of drugs made him sleep too deeply for dreams. But now that he had been cleared and sleeping back in his own room, they came readily and Wash often found himself waking with a scream in his throat more than once a night, drenched in sweat. He spend his days exhausted, half remembered nightmares circling inside his mind, dreading the time when the sun dipped down and it’d start all over again.

One night he must have been screaming before waking up because he was quietly, violently shaken awake by Caboose, who was whispering, “Agent Washington! Agent Washington wake up!”

Caboose was lucky Wash had stopped sleeping with a pistol under his pillow and that the pain from straining upon sitting up stopped him from lashing out in panic. “C-Caboose,“ he gasped, trying to get his rapidly beating heart under control, “what are you-“

“You were screaming. I woke up first this time so it was my turn to check on you.” Caboose said matter of factly. It took time for Wash’s eyes to adjust, but he saw that Caboose was standing by Wash’s bed in his pyjamas, a large… something bundled up in his arms. “This time though, it sounded very bad, so I decided you needed some help! And I think I was right- I haven’t heard you scream like this since we rescued you from Side-Snow.”

“Sidewinder.” Wash corrected gently, then sighed. “Caboose, you should know not to wake me up like that, not by my head and arms… If you have to, grab my foot. I could hurt you otherwise.” Though Wash wished he hadn’t needed to at all. It was bad enough his nightmares were keeping him up, let alone disrupting anyone else’s sleep.

“Oh, I think I would have been just fine. I am very strong. But here!” And he thrust the bundle towards Wash. “This is my hugging blanket!”

Wash blinked slowly, taking it gingerly from Caboose. The material itself felt very soft and smooth, but there was a _weight_ to the blanket Wash wasn’t expect and he left it fall into his lap. “Your… what sorry?”

“Hugging blanket!” Caboose repeated enthusiastically. “Dr.Grey had it made for me. See, she said that when I get very scared or upset, or if there’s too many things happening, I should wrap myself up in this blanket because it will feel like I am being hugged and she is right it helps me calm down when bad things happen. So I think you should use it.”

“Oh- it’s a weighted blanket?” Wash clarified as he unfolded the blanket to get a better feel for it. He remembered when the idea was first suggested by Grey to help Caboose adjust and stay calm at the base if no one was available to help him calm down. It had been a hit with him and Caboose could sometimes be seen eating in the mess hall with it wrapped around him.

“Hugging blanket.” Caboose corrected with a nod.

Wash smiled and shook his head. “Caboose… That’s very kind of you but I think you need this more.” He began to hand the blanket back to him, smiling at Caboose now. “I wouldn’t want to leave you without this.”

“Don’t be silly Washington, I am not going to be sleeping without it! We _are_ going to be sharing beds tonight after all.”

Wash choked on his next breath of air, sputtering, “Caboose…! I don’t think- you really don’t need to do that. I’m _fine_ really, thank you for checking on me but you should just go back to bed-“

“Washington,” Caboose said very softly and Wash fell silent. After a moment Caboose continued, “when Church went away, you took care of me.You made the bad thoughts go away, and made me feel very safe and warm. Well this time you are the one who is having bad thoughts. And I would like to help them go away please.”

Caboose was staring at him, the warmth of his eyes noticeable to Wash even in the dark of the room. Wash sighed softly and scooted over in his bed and pulled the covers back for Caboose to crawl in.

There were many assumptions Wash had made about Caboose and his sleeping habits and as it turned out they were all wrong. Caboose was not a loud sleeper, nor did he sprawl about the bed. He did squish up a little near Wash, it was a small bed and Caboose was not a small man, but he didn’t pull Wash in for a hug, or really touch Wash much at all, other than a small pat on the arm and a quiet goodnight.

The blanket did had a nice comforting weight as well. He could understand the term hugging blanket a lot better now and why Caboose liked it so much, and he could swear that all of Caboose’s warmth was transferring over to him. One of his thoughts as he nodded off late into the night was perhaps asking Grey if he could get one.

**

_Three_

Wash stood in the locker room of the training hall closest to his quarters, pausing as he went to put on his gym shirt. He had just had his bandages removed the other day, meaning all the scars Felix had left him were visible now. Some of they criss crossed across older scars, like the two down his chest or the few across his face, but others had been in entirely new places, like the one on his upper back. Wash hadn’t looked at that one yet. As Felix had been carving that one, there had been something different in his mannerisms than the other wounds he caused. Cold, quiet, rather than manic, rambling. He had taken his time, not just to make Wash suffer, but to precise. That made a portion of Wash nervous to see what Felix had done. Wash had a feeling he wasn’t going to like whatever it was.

Glancing over one shoulder than the other, he could just just see the pink lines beginning and ending the series of cuts Felix had made across his back. He couldn’t see enough to make out what it was, and would probably need a mirror to actually see it. Wash shook his head and sighed, slipping the t-shirt on all the way. No point in worrying about it now…

He had just finished pulling on his shirt when one Kaikaini Grif, already dressed in her gym clothing, walked in, her long wavy hair pulled back in a pony tail. Upon seeing Wash her entire face lite up and she let out an “Ow ow! Hot cop alert! Sup Wash?” She was next to him in an instance, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “You got the training block today too? Wanna help me work out?” she winked, giving him a little shake, “I can always use a spotter with my stretches.”

Wash pulled away, though he did nod as he did so. “Err, sure. I guess I can help out.”

Training with Kai turned out to be not so bad. He didn’t often train one on one with her, mostly just with the rest of the Blues, but this let him really get to know her limits and let him begin his strength training as Dr.Grey had ordered. She kept her conversation mostly clean too, only attempting to get him to “pop a boner” in her words two or three times.

By the time they were finished, both were sweaty, smiling, and overall enjoying themselves. Once again Wash found himself thinking quiet fondly of Kai. She fished her bag out from her locker, winking at him. “Well I’m going to hit the showers. Wanna join me?”

“They’re communal showers Kai.”

“Yeeeaaaah but do you wanna _join_ me?”

“No thank you Kai.” Wash chuckled, a little weak. _Dammit did she have to be so pretty_ , Wash thought as he turned to pull his shirt off.

There was the sound of Kai dropping her bag with a gasp of “That _fucker_!” and Wash stopped, shirt half pulled over his head. He’d forgotten about the scars.

He pulled his shirt off the rest of the way and slowly turned, balling the shirt in his hand. Kaikaina was standing a few feet away from him, hands clenched into fists and she was practically shaking with anger. “Well,?” he asked, all the humour and joy in his voice gone, “what’s there? I know he did… Something there. I haven’t looked yet, and Dr.Grey never told me what was there other than the fact it’ll scar. So what is it?”

It took Kai several moments to answer, her face scrunching up in what looked to be equal parts frustration, rage, and sympathy. “It’s… his name. That asshole _wrote_ his _name._ ”

Wash took a slow breath in, wringing his shirt in his hands. Logically, he knew it was no different than any other scar, but the idea of Felix acting like he _owned_ him… “Wow. He really is a sick son of a bitch isn’t he?” And Wash threw his shirt against the way with enough force that the fabric hit the wall with a soft ‘thwap’ and fell limply to the ground.

Kaikaina was suddenly beside him, arms around his shoulders, and was attempting to guide him towards one of the benches. “Okay, it’s okay Wash, you just come sit down now,” she said softly.

Wash set his jaw and dug his heels into the ground. “Kaikaina, I’m _fine_ ,” he began, rage and frustration bubbling in his stomach as he fought against lashing out at Kai. She was just trying to help, he understood that, she didn’t serve him snapping at her-

Kai snapped her perfectly manicured hand in front of his face three times, cutting him off. “Now you listen to me, Mr Agent Wash Washington!” she scolded, now jabbing a finger into his chest, carefully avoiding a scar. “I am the motherfucking _Queen_ of “I’m fine but I actually mean I’m having a breakdown I’m drowning oh god please help me”, so you are going to sit your ass down on this bench and we are going to have a heart to fucking heart.”

Normally Wash wouldn’t agree with any sort of forced helped, but looking at Kai, her face enraged not at Wash but for Wash, tears in her eyes, softened his heart and he allowed her to sit him down.

Kaikaina went from stern and tough to soft and gentle in a moment, rubbing her hands up and down his arms. The movement and pressure, to Wash’s surprise, _worked_. He slowly un-tensed, slouching a little on the bench.  “Alright Wash,” she spoke gently, squeezing him gentle, “I’ve got no idea how this feels. I mean, I get that it probably fucking sucks. Felix is a sick mother fucker. But…” she hesitated, biting down on her lip, “but those marks don’t mean anything. They’re just dumb new scars.” She suddenly perked and squeezed him closer. “Hey- if they’re really too upsetting, we could get you a cover up tattoo!”

Wash paused mid-deep breath, letting it out quickly as he turned to face her. “Tattoos? I… I guess. I never considered one before. Don’t really have anything important I’d like to have permanently etched onto my skin…” he glanced at her. “Do you have any…?” He’d assume Kai was the type to get a tattoo, but Wash couldn’t spot any on her currently exposed skin.

Kai smiled, lifting up the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a tattoo on her bicep. It was black ink, intricate geometric patterns that formed the shape of waves circling around her arm. “Yeah, I’ve got a few! Figure this one is the safest to share right now.” She winked at him, and Wash felt  himself flush wondering where those other tattoos were.

“It’s so simple… I didn’t think you’d be the kind of person to get something so… quiet.”

Kaikaina gave him a look. “You making assumptions about me Washington?” Wash flushed again, causing Kai to laugh. “Aw, I’m just teasing. But yeah, this is a traditionally done tattoo in my culture. All mine are. Grif’s got a couple too, but he’s also got a geeky-tattoo.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I bet we can find something to cover up your back. Maaaaybe…” she grinned at him, patting his shoulder, “Tucker’s full name?”

The fact Wash’s first thoughts were _‘that wouldn’t be so bad’_ shocked him into letting out a loud laugh, which caused Kai to laugh with him. It was silly, that something so silly could make him laugh, but warmth was blossoming in his chest as Kai continued to work her magic. She could make anyone smile.

The two of them didn’t move from the locker room, their laughter echoing down the hall.

**

_Four_

Wash had been spending more and more time with Tucker as of late. It started off with Tucker eating with him at every meal, sitting next to Wash, their knees almost touching. Then, once Wash was cleared to exercise,  Tucker would join him almost every time. He’d make sure Wash got back to his room alright at night and was the first person Wash saw in the morning. Normally, that kind of babysitting would irritate him. But Wash found… he didn’t mind it so much with Tucker. In fact he was rather liking it.

So when Tucker said “night Wash,” and turned to leave Wash’s doorway, Wash didn’t think it was so weird that he reached out and grabbed Tucker’s sleeve, tugging him back. But then Tucker turned, giving him a questioning look, and Wash felt his tired confidence leave him in one breath.

“Err,” Wash dropped Tucker’s sleeve and taking a step back. “Night Tucker.” Except now Tucker was reaching for _his_ hand now and he was _holding_ his hand and he was walking into Wash’s _room_ and _closing_ the door softly behind him and Wash was fairly certain half his brain had shut down as Tucker _pulled_ Wash against his chest. For a moment it was just the two of them, breathing softly, then Wash was backing up again, leading Tucker over to his bed. The two of them sat down, Tucker’s arm wrapped around Wash with a hand on his waist and Wash’s slowly putting his head on Tucker’s shoulder.

Wash realized in that moment how much he fucking needed this.

It was a while before either of them spoke, and it was Tucker who spoke first, breaking Wash’s heart in the process.

“We should have found you faster.” Tucker’s voice was steady, quiet, but his eyes were downcast, his hand gripping down on Wash.

“No, Tucker,” Wash was speaking just as softly, sitting up straight. After a moment’s hesitation, he put his hand on Tucker’s chin and lifted his head up. Tucker looked frustrated and mad, though his face softened upon meeting Wash’s eyes. Wash’s hand moved, slowly, from Tucker’s chin to the back of his head, pressing their foreheads together. “Tucker… You came right on time…”

He felt Tucker stiffen and relax, his eyes closing as he leaned into Wash’s touch. His free hand also came up, hesitantly combing through Wash’s hair, well away from Wash’s implants. Wash relaxed in turn, tingles running down his spine from Tucker touching his hair.

“Shit man…” Tucker muttered, pressing closer against Wash. “When’s the last time someone played with your hair?”

Wash closed his eyes, remembering the feeling Felix wrench and pull him about by his hair. “… Too long.” He answered slowly, as he lowered his head to rest it on Tucker’s chest.

Tucker seemed to grow more confident as he played with Wash’s hair, still keeping his hand away from his neck, his fingers massaging gently into Wash’s scalp. “Well that’s a shame. Cause I think you’re melting in my arms and it’s pretty much the cutest shit I’ve seen. After Junior of course.”

Wash let out a tired chuckle, leaning into Tucker’s hand. “Hey… think you could… just keep doing that?”

Wash must have been more tired than he thought, because he could have _sworn_ he felt Tucker press his lips to his head. His whole head felt warm was he blushing?

“Yeah man. Whatever you need.”

**

_Five_

Wash was on the floor of the pelican, a medic leaning over him and bandaging the various cuts and slashes that covered Wash’s entire body. It was possible that several of his ribs were cracked or even broken, and some of the wounds had become infected. Anytime the engine shuddered or chugged, the resulting turbulence would crack Wash’s head against the metal floor, causing his world to spin and threatening to knock him out.

Wash didn’t care about any of that. His gaze was focused on Caboose, Kai, and Tucker, all waiting to be by his side the moment the medic pulled away. He watched Caboose cry big blubbery tears, Kai bite down on her manicured nails, Tucker tug at his dreads, all exhibiting stress and exhaustion now that they were safely on the pelican and on their way to Armonia.

“That was risky…” Wash choked out as the three of them rushed to kneel by him. Kai took a hand, Caboose went to hug him before Tucker pulled him back and he instead taking his other hand, and Tucker kneeled by his head, keeping it still and safe from any further bumps.

“Well fuck yeah that was risky, but did you see us?” Tucker’s voice shook as he attempted to sound brave. “Fucking badasses saving _your_ dumb ass from a bunch of assholes.”

“You could have been hurt-“  
“Yeah,” Caboose sniffled loudly, rubbing at his nose and eyes, “but, Wash, you were REALLT hurt. In fact I think- I think you got a lot more hurt than any of us.” And he broke into tears again, sobbing out apologizes for not coming sooner.

Kai wrapped her other arm around him and pulled him in for a hug. “Besides Wash, we couldn’t just like leave you. Not after all you did for us…! You wouldn’t leave any of us behind.”

“I… Didn’t want any of you… If they had gotten you…” Speaking was really hard, Wash was realizing. He shook his head slowly, “I did it to keep everyone safe-“

“Wash,” Tucker said sternly, softly, his hands reaching down to cup Wash’s head and face, “there was no fucking way we were going to leave you to that, okay? We’d never leave you behind. We’ll always come for you, not matter what dumb hero shit you try to pull okay?”

Wash looked around from Kai, to Caboose, to Tucker. Everyone was blurry around him, and Wash wasn’t sure if that was from all the bumps his head had taken or the tears that were falling from his eyes. “I’ve got a good team…” He managed to say, reaching a hand up to clumsily pat at Tucker’s hands. Kai and Caboose’s hands joined him, and all of Blue team were gently holding hands.

“Hell yeah you do,” Tucker smiled at him. “Best fucking team in the whole god damn galaxy.”

Wash gave a tired smile, feeling warm for the first time in a long while.


End file.
